Nation building in the school prize giving ceremonies of the first decades after Italian Unification. A case study of post-unification Bologna

This contribution aims to investigate the role of school prize giving ceremonies in order to understand the contents and public methods adopted by the ruling classes in the construction of national sentiment after Unification. The approach of the case study focusing on post-unification Bologna allows us to link the elements of the top-down plans of the ruling classes with the general teaching choices of the time (textbooks, curricula, teaching aids, etc.) and specific bottom-up elements, through the study of the exams set for the awarding of the prizes.